The present invention is directed to improvements in the area of powered door opening systems, methods and apparatus. The present invention has particular application for opening and closing garage doors.
Mechanized door openers have become very prevalent in homes and many commercial establishments. These devices are designed to open the door upon receipt of a signal from a keyboard, horn, pressure of tires or footsteps on a sensor etc. Garage doors are a major market for many of these devices. Garage door openers have become ubiquitous in many communities. There are a number of problems with garage door openers, however. One of the problems with garage door openers is the issue of security. Until recently, many garage door openers had a limited number of security codes and as a result, there was a risk that-someone other that the home owner could open the garage by using the same manufacturer""s transmitter. In addition, the security code was typically permanently installed in the garage door opener and lost transmitters could give unauthorized persons access to the premises.
A second issue with respect to garage door openers is the issue of injury to persons and property in the closing of the doors. Government standards require that there be at least two method of determining whether there is an obstruction in the path of travel. One common approach is the use of a light beam that passes from one side of the opening to the other. If an object or person is present in the path of travel, the light beam is broken and the downward travel of the door is halted. Insofar as the second means of determining whether there is an obstruction present, there are a number of approaches on the market. On approach that has been used is to ascertain whether the speed of the closing door has changed. These methods measure the speed and compare it to a base figure obtained from previous unobstructed closings. If the closure is taking longer the opener concludes there is an obstruction and terminates closure. Other approaches are also currently available.
Garage door opener setup is another area that can create problems for the installer. Once the garage door opener is installed on the door then the door opener must be adjusted so that the door reaches the ground surface on closing thus eliminating any gaps to permit ingress of vermin, cold air, and debris. Similarly, adjustment is also necessary to make sure (1) that the garage door will reverse its direction upon contact with a person or an obstruction; and (2) that the garage door is not damaged on closing because it is hitting the ground. Also needed to be adjusted after installation is the force of closure. Too great a closing force can injure a person or damage the door upon closing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for opening and closing doors particularly garage doors.
It is an object of the invention to provide a garage door opener that has two upward speeds of travel, a first or initial lifting speed to provide quick opening of the door and a second slower speed to prevent damage to the door and or the opener as the door is raised.
It is another object of the invention to provide a garage door opener that has two downward speeds of travel, a first or initial speed to provide quick movement of the door to overcome inertia, and a second slower speed to provide a xe2x80x9csoft stopxe2x80x9d door closure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved security for communication between the motor control unit and a handheld RF operational control unit and/or the RF linked operational control unit that is mounted on a structure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a garage door opener with an indoor panel functioning both as a control unit and a diagnostic information unit.
It is another object of the invention to provide a garage door opener with an indoor control panel designed in a modular fashion to provide control for two or more garage door openers.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a garage door opener with a keyless entry panel that will control two or more individual openers even when the openers are placed in the vacation mode.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a garage door opener with an indoor control panel that connects to xe2x80x9coff the shelfxe2x80x9d motion sensors that cause an opener""s built in lights to illuminate when motion is sensed.
The present invention is directed to an improved garage door opener. More and more homes these days are provided with two or three garage doors. Garage door openers operate a single garage door. In applications where there is more than one garage door, the homeowner has to install multiple garage door openers and their respective control panels. With traditional garage door openers, each door opener had to have separate wiring extending from each garage door opener to their respective wall panel located in the garage. Running the wiring for this arrangement was time consuming and required running the wire from each opener to its respective control panel usually along one or more walls to the wall panel. In the present invention a second garage door opener can be wired directly to a first garage door opener and the second wall mounted control panel can be connected directly to the wall panel for the first garage door opener.
The garage door of the present invention is provided with a first microcontroller in the wall panel and a second micro controller in the drive unit. Each microcontroller has a digital bus and are connected by preferably three wires because of the volume of date that is transferred from microcontroller to microcontroller. A first wire is typically a return ground wire. The second wire is used for data transfer. The third wire is for a clock. In accordance with the present invention, there may be multiple up to a total of 256 motor control units, i.e., openers, or wall units that may be connected together. This permits the homeowner to locate the wall units at more than one location in the garage for additional convenience.
The garage door opener of the present invention also permits the door speed to vary during operation. One of the issues with many current garage door openers is the amount of time it takes the door to open and close. The present invention permits the door to open and close rapidly until a preselected distance from the end of travel is reached. For example, the garage door of the present invention operates downwardly at a higher rate of travel until a selected point is reached. At that point, the control logic signals the motor to slow the door so that the door does not impact the floor of the garage with a great force thereby risking damage to the door. Similarly, when the door is rising, the door initially travels at a higher rate of speed until a preselected distance from the end of door travel is reached. When that preselected distance is reached the control logic signals the motor to slow the door so that the door does not damage the garage door opener. For downward travel the preselected point for slowing the door can be any distance from the floor, however, a distance of about 18xe2x80x3 has been found satisfactory. For the travel of the door when it is opening, any distance may be selected. Usually about 12xe2x80x3 from the termination point has been satisfactory. The microcontroller of the present invention controls the motor speeds and constantly calculates where the door is and compares it to a figure in memory. When the appropriate location is reached, the microcontroller signals the motor to slow down by changing one of the output pins on the microcontroller.
The drive unit of the garage door opener of the present invention is provided with an optical sensor mounted on a gear wheel that is caused to rotate by the belt. The microcontroller counts the revolutions of the wheel as it is turned by the belt and knows where the door is. This permits the microcontroller to learn when to stop the door and when to slow it down if there is a problem with the speed of the door, i.e., if there is binding of the door in the tracks, an obstruction present, a drop in the line voltage or if there is a mechanical problem such as a broken spring, wheel, etc.
The garage door opener of the present invention may also have an improved locking mechanism. The microcontroller controls an output pin that locks the drive gear connected to the motor. The locking mechanism has to be disengaged prior to each start of the motor and engaged after the motor ceases. The locking and/or unlocking of the opener before each action of the motor prevents the motor from operating while the opener is in a locked position. The method of the present invention controls the timing when the motor operates and when the lock is locked or unlocked. The method of the present invention also determines when the lock is to be engaged or disengaged and also tells the motor when the door has reached the end of travel and shuts the motor off. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention starts up the motor a short time after the lock disengages. The amount of time from the release of the lock and the engagement of the motor can vary but is usually in the vicinity of about 200 milliseconds after the disengagement of the lock. when the door is on the way down, the solenoid of the locking mechanism stays open until it reaches the full bottom limit or reaches an obstruction. if the door does not reach the fully down position due to, for example, a binding or an obstruction power to the solenoid causes the brake to be released. If the light beam is impeded the microcontroller will cause the door to cease its downward travel and reverse its direction of travel. Power to the solenoid will remain on until the door reaches its fully opened position.
In another embodiment of the present invention the outdoor keypad of the opener may be provided with a switch to turn on or off the light in the opener in the garage.
In a still further embodiment of the invention the door speed changes are measured based on a formula taking into consideration the time and speed and a number is calculated which creates a tolerance window. The force adjustment range is based on the number so calculated. This calculation is made approximately 16 times per second during operation and compared to the tolerance window but can be adjusted so that the calculation is made at other intervals greater than or less than 16 times per second. The tolerance window that is created is updated about 16 times per second. If there are problems with, for example, the line voltage, then the force calculation range shifts as the door operates. If there is an obstruction, the number will be outside the tolerance window and the opener will cease movement of the door.
In another embodiment, there may be an outdoor keypad usually placed on the outside wall of the garage or other structure. This outdoor keypad is able to control two doors. There is a user password that preferably has eight digits instead of the usual four digits. Typically, there are three different passwords, a primary, a secondary and an override. The primary password enables a person to change the settings on the keypad. The override password is used to override the vacation lock.